The Morning After
by THECURSOR
Summary: Batman and Wonder Woman experience three very different "Morning Afters"
1. The Morning After

The Day After

By THECURSOR

I own nothing

Diana's eyes opened slowly as the first ray of morning light beamed through a gap in the curtains. She felt warm all over, her body tingling from a beautiful evening of passionate love making.

She sat bolt upright, clutching the sheets to her naked body. Bruce. Sex. Good sex! Memories flooded back from the night before: the museum benefit, Bruce's generous donation, a bottle of champagne, his hand on her lower back, another bottle, laughing, a limo ride, another bottle, his hand on her thigh, and then it went hazy. Diana didn't normally drink, despite her divine strength and power she was a lightweight when it came to libations but after last night she might never touch the grape again. It was all a blur, a wonderful blur of skin touching skin between expensive Egyptian cotton sheets. A blush spread across her skin and Diana suddenly wanted to hide deep inside the darkest hole she could find. Bruce Wayne, the Batman, had spent an evening touching her in ways no other man ever had. Her teammate, her friend, a man who stood beside her through thick and thin, was also the best sex she'd ever had.

She held her breath when she felt the bed shift beside her. Bruce was still there, sleeping the sleep of the sated lover. Diana threw a hand over her eyes to keep from staring at his vast expanse of bronze skin. She suddenly felt as shy as a teenage girl, afraid but also excited. Just looking at Bruce created a storm within her, a swirling tempest that made gooseflesh appear across her skin.

He stirred again and Diana jumped out of the bed with fright. Why was she still here? Why wasn't she looking for her clothing, rushing down the back stairs? Did she want more from him that this? Was this the start of something?

She felt her common sense banging a drum over and over in her mind. No, no, NO! You can't, not with him. Bruce was supposed to be a friend, someone you care about like a brother. Besides, he clearly wasn't 'boyfriend' material. Diana gotten to know Bruce very well over the years and could never picture him doing anything but running from rooftop to rooftop with his sights set on some foul villain. He wouldn't retire, wouldn't share his pain or his feelings. Bruce Wayne was incapable of sharing his life with anyone.

But Diana was still here. Still standing naked his bed room with no regard for how awkward this would be if he ever woke up and realized exactly what road the champagne had pushed them down. She felt her head turn against her will and she started staring at his body again.

When she was much younger, Diana's mother told her a story about one of the few men to ever reach the shores of Themyscira: Adonis, Aphrodite's lover. To hide her beautiful man from the world, the Goddess of Love asked Poseidon to maroon Adonis on Themyscira so he would be safe from Ares' violent temper or Hephaestus' jealous rages. Aphrodite assumed that the Amazons would not be interested in Adonis' perfect beauty but instead the love struck women of the island drove themselves crazy trying to bed the Greek youth. In the end Amazon society nearly collapsed into civil war before Aphrodite whisked Adonis away on the wings of a swan. The story had many different versions but Diana's mother made the moral very clear: all men are dangerous.

But she never quite understood that story until this very moment. This single mere mortal, not a god or an alien in a cape, had managed to disarm her so completely that she was at his mercy. She couldn't move or speak or make a decision. Her thoughts were simply filled with him. His body, his touch. Diana briefly entertained a darkly humorous thought about what would happen if she brought Bruce back to the island. Would the sight of him cause another civil war?

The sun had risen a little higher and there was more light in the room then before, Diana could see the rippling muscles on his back stretch beneath his taunt skin. She heard a breathy moan escape Bruce's lips and a single word reached her superhuman ears: "Diana." He was dreaming about her.

That spurred Diana into action. This had already gone too far. She needed to put an end to it before she made it worse. She pulled the white gown on top of her body, and then began fastening her sandals onto her feet. She was preparing to leave until she realized that the blue sash she wore the night before was nowhere to be found. She scanned the room, but her eyes stopped at the headboard. It was wrapped around Bruce's right arm, immobilizing him even in his sleep. She suddenly wondered how she'd managed to talk him into doing something like that.

Diana had to sit on the bed and lean over Bruce's naked form in order to remove her sash. A scene flashed in her mind, Diana had tied him to the bed and straddled his hips with her thighs. She remembered him groaning and moaning every time they increased the pace of their thrusting motions. She remembered loud cries of passion just before they both exploded from the wonderful pressure.

Her body would let her go but her mind had to leave; she had to get away from this terrible mistake. Diana was rushing to untie the heavy knot without waking him. She was nearly out the door when the urge to take one final look at Bruce overwhelmed her common sense. She wondered, briefly, if it would hurt him if she left without saying goodbye. A great feeling of guilt washed over her and she couldn't bring herself to just go without leaving something, a note, a farewell, something.

Diana untied the blue sash from her waist and then rubbed it against her face to make sure it smelled of her perfume. She threw it across the bed, letting the wispy silk fall lightly on his chest. Her mouth touched his cheek in a final chaste kiss.

* * *

Alfred Pennyworth was a man of strict ritual and rigid tradition. Every morning at precisely five o'clock he arose and took a half hour jog around the grounds of Wayne Manor. Then he showered, dressed, and prepared for a day of tending to the business of running a multimillion dollar household.

He was normally alone at this time of day. Master Bruce rarely rose before noon and since Master Tim has always maintained his own residence, there was no longer any need to set out school clothes and cook a hearty breakfast as had been the thing to do for Master Bruce's previous young charges. So now all that was left to do was to pick up the morning paper and take in a light meal before beginning his morning rounds around the house.

He was shocked when he saw Princess Diana descending the stairway wearing the same outfit he had seen her wearing the night before carrying her shoes and her hair frizzy and unkempt as if she had just woken up. When she saw him the tall demi goddess stopped dead in her tracks.

Normally Alfred had some sort of biting comment on the tip of his tongue for occasions just such as this one but those barbed jokes were reserved for the many models and glamorous actresses that hopped in and out of Master Bruce's bed for the sake of maintaining an alibi.

But this was a very different kind of woman…this was…

"He isn't awake yet, Mr. Pennyworth." Wonder Woman did her best to maintain her royal authority but didn't need to. A life of growing up alongside British Aristocracy meant Alfred knew exactly how to treat royalty, even divine royalty, regardless of the situation.

Pennyworth recovered from the initial shock and straightened his back with practiced calm, "I am aware of that, your highness, I was merely attending to my personal business upstairs."

Diana nodded and mouthed a limp 'of course'.

She continued her descent past him and navigated on wobbly knees to the front door until Alfred's cultured voice stopped her, "I might recommend using the rear door, your highness. Agents of certain tabloids have been known to frequent our front lawn. I cannot guarantee your visit will be discreet if you use that exit."

"Thank you, Alfred."

"My pleasure, your highness."

Soon Diana was gone, leaving Alfred alone with the shock of seeing the world's most desirable woman walking through the halls of Wayne Manor with a grin of physical satisfaction on her face.

"Bugger me," Alfred muttered, "What has he done now?"

TBC


	2. The Day After

The Year After

By THECURSOR

I own nothing

_Gotham Dish!_

_By Grace Walsh_

_Well the day is finally here! A society wedding on a cosmic scale! This is the kind of historic pop culture event that people will be talking about till the end of time. Forget Brangelina, to hell with Bennifer and TomKat, and don't even talk to me about Lindsey Lohan-slash-piece of Hollywood meat that's currently buying her drinks! No, the couple on everyone's lips this wedding season is BruAna and the wedding is today. _

_Of course I'm taking about Bruce Wayne and Princess Diana of Themyscira, the celebrity power couple nobody ever saw coming. He's an irresponsible playboy with a billion dollars in the bank and a reputation for dating and dumping (Elle, Cindy, Pamela, Jenny, Madonna, all three Jessicas, Both Jennifers, and a ScarJo! ) She's a superhero princess/founder of the Justice League who claims to be descended from Greek Gods (Sheesh, and I thought my ego was big.) Together they have the net worth of a European country and their own island paradise filled with scantily clad Greek girls (careful Brucie). _

_No one's exactly sure where these two first met. But insiders close to the Princess claim Bruce dropped ten million dollars during one of the Princess' benefit dinners last year and Ms. D just had to 'thank' Gotham's top stud…all night long if you catch my drift, gentle readers. _

_They dated off and on for a month until they went public in May and then went very 'private' on Bruce's yacht in the south of France. I never thought anybody would be able to sink the unsinkable but when we saw that ring on Diana's fingers three months ago it had to be true! _

_So ends the swinging lifestyle of America's last great man about town. Somewhere hundreds of supermodels, actresses, and women with their name on upscale hotel chains (yes he dated her too) are crying their eyes out because their Brucie Poo has all the woman he'll ever need. I always knew that if a girl nabbed Bruce it would be someone really special, but a living goddess?! A walking talking Greek Myth! Say what you want about Bruce Wayne but when that man does something, he only settles for the best. _

The sun rose over the island of Themyscira but Bruce Wayne had been awake for over an hour. What did he do? Why did he do it? Decades of training in deductive reasoning gave him no assistance. This wasn't a puzzle he could solve by collecting evidence or questioning witnesses. He couldn't tap buttons on the Batcave computer to get an answer or ask Oracle to check her informants. This was….new.

Well, not new. Bruce had been in love before. Women have come and gone from his life over the years. Selina, Vicky, A girl or two in college, Talia. All of them gave him that moment of doubt, that small nagging thought that told him 'Stop. Give up the war. Be happy.'

None of them were convincing enough. The girls he met in college didn't deserve to have their lives ruined with his lack of intimacy. Vicky couldn't be trusted with his true identity. Talia and Selina were criminals and he knew that even if he gave up the war and walked away from that life, one day those two would face justice from someone. It would destroy him if that happened.

But somehow Diana had been different. Something clicked between them when the costumes came off and it was only natural for that emotional connection to gradually turn into something more. Bruce just didn't realize how quickly it would happen. One night, the stars aligned and a bottle of champagne was all it took. One year later, they were married and honeymooning in his wife's home country. This was the happiest week of his life.

So why did he feel so guilty?

As a young man, Bruce Wayne made a solemn vow in the name of justice. He has never broken that vow. Not once. Even with a broken back, facing a lifetime as an invalid, he continued the fight. When the Joker took his friend and partner from him, Bruce kept going out every night to defend the innocent. But this felt different from all the other things he'd dealt with over the years. It clouded his vision, made the future seem so unclear. Was this the first step to hanging up the cape? Was he calling an end to the war?

Bruce knew she was standing behind him but he pretended to be surprised when Diana's arms wrapped around his waist. "You're up early." She whispered. He felt her hand rubbing his stomach and tracing outline of his muscles.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Want me to tire you out?"

He smiled, Bruce had been doing a lot of that lately and that was part of what concerned him. He changed when he was around her. Felt the weight of his parent's murder lift ever so slightly. Ever since that first night they shared, he had trouble keeping up the persona around her. Wonder Woman was making it hard to be Batman.

"No I'm fine." It was a lie but he didn't know a better way to put it. Normally Bruce was careful about telling lies around the woman who carried a lie detector on her hip but he needed to risk it anyway. "I think I just need a good breakfast."

Either she believed him or Diana knew better then to press him. Instead Bruce felt her powerful arms squeeze him tightly then said something about taking a quick bath. Soon he was alone with his thoughts, quietly contemplating the massive change marriage would bring into an already complicated life.

Bruce Wayne didn't technically exist. Bruce Wayne was a persona Batman adopted to fight crime, not the other way around. There was no Bruce Wayne. It was just a name he used to sign checks. But now his mask, his real life persona was married. The fake person had a real connection and that scared him.

In the beginning that was how he rationalized his relationship with her. This was Bruce Wayne dating her, falling for her. It had nothing to do with Batman. Princess Diana of the Amazons was just one of hundreds of girls that fell for the charming billionaire's smooth talk but the only difference was that Diana had enough charm of her own to land a ring on her finger. It was helpful to the war in a lot of ways. Bruce Wayne's big ticket wedding further cemented the idea that he and Batman were separate beings. No man in his right mind would risk his life when the greatest woman in the world was waiting for him at home.

But then the doubts started surfacing, the cruel twists in his heart when he stood her up to track down criminals. It hurt more when he realized how much she understood why he wasn't there. She was a superhero too, she knew why he was doing what he was doing and none of the usual excuses pushed her away.

She's a detriment to the war, said the voice inside him, She's a connection you can't afford any longer.

But she makes you happy. You need her, thought another voice.

"This isn't about your needs, Bruce." He surprised himself by actually saying those words out loud and his thoughts turned dark again. Could he really dump a woman the morning after their wedding? Was the war that important to him?

Yes, said the voice, you already know that.

His hands shook as he walked towards the bathroom door with a feeling of sinking dread. Do it quickly, he thought, don't let it hurt too much.

But Bruce stopped at the threshold to the lavish Greek bathroom. Diana was lounging on the side of the massive tile bathing pool, pouring cupfuls of water on her jet black hair. She stood up and he could see drops of water sliding down her naked chest to bare skin on her thighs. The light streamed in through an unseen window and made everything in the room glow.

The conflict must've shown on his face because Diana looked at him with a worried look. "Is something wrong?"

Yes! He thought, You're getting in the way of the war. Part of him wanted to say that to her, to shout that right in her face. But seeing her like this…with that innocent look on her face…

"No, nothing's wrong." You're weak! Said the voice in his head.

They stood there in awkward silence and Diana bit her lower lip in nervous excitement. "Do you want to do my back?" From the lips of any other woman in the world that offer might've sounded lurid and suggestive but somehow Diana managed to make it sound pure and innocent.

Bruce just smiled.

TO BE CONTINUED….


End file.
